Though one would think that the focal point of any sensible media coverage surrounding the murders of two Israeli Embassy staffers would be sympathy for the victims, more information on the antisemitic shooter, the hatred behind the movement he supports, and the plans to bring him to justice.
But it appears that some in the mainstream press have quickly moved on to something else that concerns them about the killings:
How they could potentially negatively impact pro-Hamas groups.
Incredibly, that’s where we are now, as evidenced by a news piece from the New York Times, which fretted about how the actions of the alleged gunman, Elias Rodriguez, would bring further scrutiny on what they called the “pro-Palestinian” movement:
Even worse was an interview CNN‘s Sara Sidner conducted Friday with a witness from the scene of the Wednesday night shootings.
The witness, Jonathan Epstein, said he did not see the murders happen but heard the shots fired while he was in the Capital Jewish Museum, which the victims – Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Lynn Milgrim – had left shortly before they were allegedly gunned down in cold blood by Rodriguez, who reportedly yelled “free, free Palestine!” as he was being detained, handcuffed, and taken away.
Epstein told Sidner that though he didn’t witness the actual shootings, he did see the alleged killer afterwards and looked into his eyes.
Sidner asked him what he saw as he looked the alleged shooter in the eyes, and that’s where things got interesting:
EPSTEIN: But what I saw in his eyes — I mean, I went to Columbia for grad school, and I saw the same thing in his eyes as I saw in the eyes of all the protesters at Columbia. Nothing different between him and them.SIDNER: But they did not create this horrific shooting. They did not, you know, sort of —EPSTEIN: Hmm.SIDNER: They didn’t shoot —EPSTEIN: They gave permission. They gave a permission, and they’ve called for this. They have called for intifada revolution, which is the same thing he yelled last night.
When Sidner asked Epstein if he would “worry” about “conflation” between who she said were “people… who really care about what is happening in Gaza and those people who are like this person,” Epstein was having none of it:
SIDNER: Do you worry that there will be a conflation though of the two? Those people who are speaking their mind who really care about what is happening in Gaza and those people who are like this person who did this horrific shooting who intend to do harm.EPSTEIN: A conflation? I mean, they are calling for intifada. At Columbia University they call for intifada constantly. Not — they’re not quiet, they’re loud, they’re loud. You can hear it. They make recordings of themselves. So what’s the difference?
Watch:
Keep in mind that this is the same network that would take one rando carrying the Confederate flag at a packed Trump rally and conflate everyone there with that one person.
And yet Sidner is essentially cautioning a witness not to conflate other pro-Hamas agitators who have chanted “free, free Palestine!” and who have expressed support for an intifada with the one who was caught on video Wednesday night yelling “free, free Palestine!” and who police say told them he “did it for Gaza.”
Sadly, he’s right.
-Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym “Sister Toldjah” and can be reached via Twitter/X.-
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